Jason Heath, Cocaine and Methamphetamine Trafficking, Ohio 2024

A massive cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking operation has been dismantled in Dayton, Ohio, with four men indicted by a federal grand jury.

The indictment charges Jason Heath, 40, of Dayton; Roderic Searcy, 60, of Los Angeles; Craig Worthen, 40, of Los Angeles; and Mark Lane, 33, of Cincinnati, with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine.

The charges stem from the seizure of 119 kilograms of suspected cocaine and fentanyl, 170 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and 80 pounds of suspected marijuana. On February 2, DEA agents executed a federal search warrant on a freight package delivered to a distribution center in Dayton, where they discovered and seized the large quantity of suspected controlled substances.

According to charging documents, Lane and Searcy drove a white Mercedes van to the distribution center on February 3 to retrieve the shipment. Lane and Searcy then allegedly took possession of the freight and loaded two pallets into the van before leaving the distribution center.

From the distribution center, Heath and Worthen followed the van in a Honda Civic to an address in Dayton. The defendants discovered the suspected controlled substances had been removed when they started to unwrap the package inside the van, and all four defendants immediately attempted to leave the residence unsuccessfully. All four individuals were stopped and arrested by federal agents.

The defendants are facing a crime punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison. Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth A. McCormick is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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